Angels
by cydonic
Summary: Joshua doesn't believe in angels.


"This is utterly ridiculous." Joshua stated, sounding very much beyond his mere eight years. His arms were crossed stubbornly over his chest, and a pout was prominent on his baby-face. Nestled within the mess of ashen blonde hair on his head was a halo, roughly made from pipe-cleaners and feathers. Sanae had spent quite some time on that one. Just because he was an artist did not mean that all crafty things fell into his domain. Sanae would find it much easier to paint an angelic Josh than turn him into one.

But even if he were to do so, there would be no other facial expression possible. Joshua was not the sort of kid who liked sitting on a float and pretending to be an angel. "You look lovely, Josh." Sanae said teasingly, ruffling up the back of Joshua's hair with one hand.

Immediately the boy slapped his hand away, ignoring the noise one woman made nearby as she prepared her own daughter for the pageant. "Why on Earth would you put me through this?" Joshua asked, voice a low hiss as he tugged on the elasticated wings digging into his shoulder. "Utterly, _utterly_ ridiculous." He repeated, and Sanae took that to be his phrase for the week. With the amount of time Joshua spent grumpy over something, he had to keep changing how he vocalise it, lest he start to sound like a broken record.

Sanae laughed, leaning back against one wall. The rest of the angels in the float were girls, each being primped and made up before their big show. Not that it was much - they did a lap of the busier streets in Shibuya and that was all. Most of the turn-out was for Santa as he went through, not the little kids employed to be angels or elves or the unfortunate few who were stuck with antlers and brown face-paint. "It's for your school thing. Your teacher sent a letter home." Sanae, admittedly, was not so good at this semi-adoptive parent thing he was attempting. Joshua spent more days at home than at school, simply because school made him sulk more than usual. Sanae didn't really mind his company - Joshua was witty and intelligent and certainly able to keep up with an adult.

Joshua let out a low growling sound, fisting his hands in the white cloak he wore (Sanae had said dress until Joshua had threatened to smother him in his sleep, and so he loosened up on the teasing). "It's optional. You're terrible at this." By now, Sanae was easily able to ignore Joshua getting mad at him. The sight was more amusing than upsetting - a young child with a vocabulary years beyond his own tearing into him. Sanae got in even worse trouble when he laughed, so he tried to refrain when his self-control allowed it. "I might as well just call child protective services. This is practically abuse."

"Hey, that's not nice." Sanae answered as Joshua came to lean against the wall beside him, head bowed. A few mothers gave him concerned looks. "See if they'll let you up late as I do. And you better believe orphanages enforce going to school." Though he didn't comment on it, Sanae heard the grumble from Joshua that meant he was agreeing with him - he just really wasn't happy about it.

A few moments passed in silence. One woman came over to offer glitter eyeliner, but was turned away by Joshua's glare. "I want to go home. I'm sick." He didn't even bother making his lie convincing, tugging the poorly made halo from his hair and leaving it even more spiked up. The feather-clad object fell to the floor, and Joshua looked as though he were contemplating stomping on it.

"Come on, Josh. Expand your horizons." Sanae said, and then tipped his sunglasses down low to give Joshua an assessing look. "World ends with you." He shared up his words of wisdom, smirking when Joshua mouthed the exact same phrase with a particularly venomous look.

"And I quite like my world free from angels." Joshua said right back, grabbing Sanae's hand and tugging on him. Where Joshua had some strength in his words, there was little to talk about in the physical department. Sanae wasn't a bulky guy by any standards, but Joshua was a weedy little kid who could just as easily pass for malnourished. Joshua tried to look nonchalant as he threw his body weight into dragging Sanae away from the wall, but failed miserably. At last his guardian put him out of his misery, stepping forward to pick up the halo and then falling into step beside the blonde.

With a serene smile, Sanae ruffled Joshua's hair again. "Now now, you don't know that for sure." It was said in that cryptic way he knew Joshua hated, because it meant that Sanae was talking about things he didn't understand - and wouldn't be entitled to an explanation of, either. Joshua would learn, though, one day. Believing in angels was just one of many things he'd have to do, when the time came.

Losing to his guardian at Tin Pin would be the greatest of Joshua's worries today, though, and Sanae endeavoured to keep it that way for as long as he could.

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**author's notes:** my late gift for puppy_sariel's prompt:_ child!joshua. as a christmas pagent angel. mr. h. of course, remembering, joshua was probably not the happiest or most saintly child around._ sorry it's late - hope you enjoy it!


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